Cruise ship adrift in Gulf of Mexico; Carnival Triumph suffers fire

Nearly 500 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, fire in the engine room of a Carnival cruise ship knocked out power, leaving more than 4,200 people stranded.

The Carnival Triumph is little more than a 100,000-ton cork, bobbing in the Gulf of Mexico for the past 24 hours Its engines are reportedly so badly damaged, a tugboat will have to tow it to Mexico starting at noon Monday.

Brent Nutt says his wife Bethany, who is on board, called him to say the plumbing wasn't working.

"She said there's no running water. They just really got food there to them tonight, and there's no power whatsoever other than the emergency flasher lights that are on. She was crying and hysterical," Nutt said.

Overnight, Carnival told ABC News many of the toilets are being brought back online, there is plenty of food after a sister ship arrived and that the passengers are not in danger.

A fire erupted in the engine room Sunday. It was extinguished by an automated system, but not before it hobbled the ship, according to the Coast Guard.

"All the passengers are staying in the public areas of the vessel on the open decks because there is no air conditioning," a USCG spokesperson said.

Emergency generators are providing some power, but the ship - 2.5 football fields long - is at the mercy of the sea. The Carnival Triumph made its maiden voyage in 1999.